


The Atlantean Chronicles

by BannedBookReader



Category: Aquaman (Comics), Aquaman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Babysitting, DC comics - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-07-21 20:22:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7402537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BannedBookReader/pseuds/BannedBookReader
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While watching the Royal Children for a few days Kaldur keeps them occupied with stories from the past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Chap. 1:

 

Kaldur had nothing against kids, especially the Royal Children. In fact, he adored them. It's just that, despite the expectations of some, he wasn't very _good_ with them.

After a babysitting incident that resulted in the complete destruction of Princess Mareena’s room (that was just as much Koryak’s fault as his), he was never the first person that would be asked. Somehow though, tonight he'd managed to not only get stuck watching the King’s children but Garth’s as well. Four Royal Children, the literal future of Atlantean politics, his responsibility. 

No pressure. 

He let out a sigh that had been building up all night when a loud crash echoed from his living room. The first time it had happened he chalked it up to the kids not being used to walking on land. This however was the _sixth_ time. He finished retrieving the ground beef from the fridge before turning to the eldest of the children. AJ was the spitting image of his father--to the point it was eery. Especially for Kaldur, who now found himself next to a red faced, hacking, miniature version of his mentor. 

“Remind me again _why_ your brother isn't doing this?” Kaldur waited as the young boy sucked desperately on his inhaler. 

“ _Father's son_ -”

“ _Your brother_.”

“Tell _him_ that,” the boy muttered under his breath, “...anyway. Koryak vanished as soon as Vulko mentioned we'd need to be watched.” The young prince gave a small shrug to bookend his point. Kaldur’s lips twitched up in a small smile. He set the meat on the counter to begin supper. 

“Lovely.” A few minutes passed with AJ standing silently next to Kaldur, who listened closely to the havoc in his living room. 

“Can't he be banished for that?” AJ piped up suddenly. Kaldur paused in his preparations,shocked. He turned quickly and looked at the boy, more confused than concerned. 

“Do you _want_ your brother to be banished?” Kaldur had the decency to leave off the “again”.

AJ flushed. “No...but he's the eldest. It's his duty to keep Mareena and me safe.” AJ suddenly became very interested in his shoes. “He doesn't seem to care about us…”

Kaldur tried not to sigh. He knelt down to be at eye level with the boy. “My Prince, I've seen your brother rip someone apart to protect you. He's just not a fan of the domestic aspects of it.” The Princess’ completely annihilated room flashed before Kaldur’s eyes again and he really couldn't blame him. He probably would have gone off-grid too if he had the opportunity before Garth called. 

AJ lifted his head slowly, blue eyes wide. “Did he really? How?”

Sensing the boy’s insecurities about his eldest sibling had subsided for the moment, Kaldur rose to continue dinner. The sounds of Garth’s children wrestling in the living room with the Princess cheering both sides on was not lost to him. “His hard water powers. Granted he can only create a spear… but it was enough.” 

“Tell me the whole story.” 

\---

“I'm telling you Kaldur, I have a shot.” Koryak crossed his strong arms over his chest, his default stance, and turned his head away.

Kaldur kept his face carefully blank. “Yes my Prince, and _I_ have a shot with the late Queen Atlanna.”

Koryak responded with a sharp punch Kaldur’s forearm. “Very funny Kaldur'ahm, and don't speak of my Grandmother like that.”

“Apologies.” Kaldur rubbed his arm, waiting to see if the bastard Prince was going to respond. When he didn’t Kaldur opted to keep talking. “I'm simply saying, you-”

“That I have no shot with Dolphin.”

“For one you only started courting her after her relationship with Garth began.”

“Are you saying I'm only interested in her because Garth is?”

_Yes_. When it came to Garth, Koryak had a bit of a complex. While he wouldn’t admit it, Koryak resented Garth for being raised by Arthur. Because of this he often times became jealous whenever _anything_ good happened to Garth, something Kaldur was more than happy to point out. 

Before he had a chance to respond, a large explosion rocked the Palace. The shock of the bomb ripped through the water and pushed the boys back down the hall where they'd been conversing. 

“Wha-” Koryak managed to let out. His head had slammed into one the rough coral walls, but he appeared uninjured. He floated there dazed for a few seconds before compression returned. Kaldur however was down the hall like a shot. By the time the young Inuit boy had caught up Kaldur was already in AJ’s room, or what was left of it.

The rubble piled up in odd angles and one of the Royal Guards had been crushed under the weight. Her hand hung limp from under the fallen wall. Kaldur immediately began to scan the room for clues but Koryak’s blood turned to ice. The memory of him cradling his mother's cool body in the remains of their house hit him like a brick. It was the only home he'd ever truly known. The house he was born and raised in, leveled in heaps of ash and rubble. In his arms the only person he ever gave a damn about, burnt to a crisp and still somehow cool. He'd been too late, much too late. 

Not again. 

Not _ever_ again. He was after his half-brother’s kidnapper before he could completely comprehend the child had been kidnapped. 

Kaldur was close behind, racing through the waters at top speed. “My Prince!” There was no real point, with the water rushing past his untrained ears Koryak couldn’t hear him anyway. If he had heard, Kaldur would have brought up the fact, they had no idea where they were going. By the grace of the Gods however, they were on the right track. 

Once they’d left the Poseidonis’ boundaries it didn't take long to spot one of Black Manta’s soldiers. For a split second Kaldur froze, he hadn't confronted his biological father since the end of the Light and Reach’s partnership. If he was being completely honest with himself he'd have preferred to never see any trace of David again. 

While Kaldur was frozen, Koryak had formed, and launched, a hard water spear strong enough to rip the soldier’s arm off. The Manta Man was tossed backwards and clouds of blood poured from what used to be his shoulder. Koryak was on him in seconds, his strong hands clamped tightly around the lackey's throat.

“ _My brother. Where. Is. He._ ” 

Remaining silent was perhaps the worst decision, next to getting into bed with Manta, of the soldier's life because next he lost his leg. The blood curtailing scream echoed throughout the water and Kaldur desperately wanted to stop this. If anyone knew that Manta’s soldiers were just regular people it was him. And while he heavily disagreed with their methods, he couldn’t argue with some of their politics. Besides how was ripping a person apart any better?

“Koryak. This is not the w-”

“ _Shut it Kaldur._ ” Koryak returned to his “interrogation”, which only resulted in the man bleeding out before they could get any real answers, and Manta getting even further away. 

\---

Kaldur left the last bit off the story. The last thing Koryak needed was for his little brother to blame him for the destruction of his respiratory system. The Atlanteans had barely managed to find AJ before he'd suffocated, something Manta enjoys reminding them of.

“Wow. He really did that? Just cause he was mad they took me.”

Kaldur’s stomach knotted with anger at the memory. For both Koryak and David’s overly brutal methods. “Yes.”

“Wow.” AJ returned to staring at his feet. When he looked up he was grinning, his missing front tooth a black hole against white teeth and pale skin. “Got anymore stories?”  
Kaldur let out a surprised laugh. “Uh. Yes, I suppose I do.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the spacing. I'll fix it when I have a bit more time. Don't know what happened to it

Chap. 2:

“Kaldur?” A small voice interrupted before Kaldur could think of a story for the only well behaved Royal Child.  
“Yes Cerdian?” Kaldur turned to the small boy. He had always been a scrawny child. On the day of his birth Vulko had been worried he wouldn't last the night with the hospital demolished in battle. (A worry that he voiced and was quickly reprimand for by Queen Mera). Thankfully he turned out to be a very healthy baby, but between his tiny frame and much too pale skin, his first years were filled with anxiety. As he grew his raven hair transitioned into silver, like his mother's, but he acted more like his father and kept his matching purple eyes. Now the young boy was cradling his arm in a webbed hand.  
“My sister bit me!”  
Kaldur responded with a slow blink while the boy’s words processed. “Well she certainly earned her nickname.” It was true, while Garth and Dolphin’s daughter may had been named Tula to honor their fallen friend and love, she was quickly dubbed “Piranha”. He gave the boy a quick once over.  
“Cerdian, I was about to tell the Prince a story. Would you like to join us?” Considering he wasn't bleeding Tula most likely didn’t penetrate the skin and any real damage would have no doubt been hidden by Cerdian. The few times he had actually been injured he wouldn’t admit to it for reasons unknown.  
Cerdian hesitated in the doorway for a moment before entering the kitchen entirely. “Yeah okay...got any about my father?” He tilted his head at Kaldur expectantly.  
A smile played on Kaldur’s lips while he mulled over his many misadventures with Garth. “Yes. How about the time he pulled me off the top of Titans Tower?”  
“He did not!”  
“I assure you, he did.”  
AJ crossed his arms, eyeing Kaldur skeptically. “I feel like we're missing context.”  
“Well do you want to hear the story or not?” He went to retrieve the spaghetti from the pantry while the boys sat down on the floor waiting.  
\------  
“Do you trust me?” Garth, somehow, managed to keep his voice relatively calm despite the current situation.  
“Always. Except when you ask me that.” Kaldur glanced behind him. The only way to and from the roof had been frozen shut by Garth in desperation. However with the summer heat on this side and the angry mind controlled Superboy on the other, the ice wouldn't hold long. His eyes scanned the roof for the umpteenth time.  
“Kaldur. We don't have another choice. Just _trust me_.” He held his hand out clearly expecting Kaldur to take it. Garth was teetering dangerously on the ledge, a sight that made Kaldur’s stomach twist. While he had no problem with heights, he _did_ have an issue with falling to his death.  
“Garth, my dear friend, I am _not_ jumping off a _thirty story building_.” He took a step back, completely willing to fight his mind controlled team over _suicide_.  
“ _Kaldur_. I'm telling you, I can teleport. We'll be fine.”  
“You can _maybe_ teleport. And you don't know if you can with more than one person.” Garth’s frantic explication from when they reached the roof still rung in Kaldur’s ears. He first discovered his new ability after Orm had snatched Cerdian and threatened to boil him alive. In a panic Garth had managed to save his son by teleporting him away. A few weeks later Garth had thrown himself off a ledge to escape a firefight with a group of stranded aliens. He managed to teleport before colliding with the ground. Now he was confident he could do it again, only with two people. Kaldur was less than pleased to be the guinea pig.  
A loud splintering noise came from behind them and they didn't have to look to see the ice wall was seconds away from collapse. Kaldur was startled by Garth’s strong hand grabbing his wrist roughly and pulling him up onto the ledge.  
“Damn it Kaldur, as your ambassador and member of the Royal family I order you to _jump_.”  
Garth didn’t give Kaldur a chance to respond before pulling him in close and stepping off the ledge.  
Everyone always said when you're about to die your life flashes before your eyes. For Kaldur it was the opposite. He could clearly see what would happen in the aftermath of their deaths. The large royal funeral for Garth as the Atlantean capital mourned. Dolphin’s tear stained face as she cradled her toddler, her other hand resting on her pregnant belly. Koryak’s guilt over ever wishing ill on Garth written on his face, and a heartbroken Vulko trying to comfort him. Arthur would reside to the palace, not wanting to choose between which funeral he'd appear at, cursing the Gods.  
Kaldur’s own funeral would be small, held on the same day as Garth’s. He parents would hold onto each other desperately during the entire thing. His friends would take turns going to his and Garth's, but Debbie would be the one showing her heartbreak. The blue skinned girl would break down sobbing even after being pulled into a tight hug by a friend, Blubber perhaps or Lorena. Jackson would be there as well, more mourning the what could have beens than the what were's. The boy would catch sight of a shiny black silhouette in the distance, but he wouldn't say a word. As long as he didn’t start trouble Manta _did_ have some right to watch the funeral.  
On land both men would be mourned together by their friends, but not the world. They would slowly disappear from the newscasts until finally someone would ask what happened to them, never to receive a proper answer.  
Kaldur could see it all, and it broke his heart more than he could describe. Then, by the grace of every God he'd ever prayed to, he was standing at the base of the tower. Soft sand seeping between his toes. His legs gave out from under him in relief, and he couldn’t quite process Garth’s loud, relieved, cheers.  
Garth’s excitement over his ability to teleport wore off however at the discovery of it being hereditary. As it turned out whenever Tula got board she'd randomly appear some place more “fun”, something that caused a great deal of stress for her parents and any other unlucky fool watching her. 

\---  
“Wait,” Cerdian piped up. “What happened to the team?”  
“Oh, well once we made it off the island we were able to get help from Zatanna and Constantine. See the mind control was actually coming from a magical parasite, but anyone trained in the mystic arts was immune.”  
AJ let out a small hum considering. After a minute he gave a nod and went back to collecting dishes from the cabinet. The trio processed in a graceful quiet for a about a minute before Cerdian let out an alarmed “Atlan’s tears!”  
Kaldur spun around to be met with a panicking princess and a blood covered ambassador’s daughter. The only relief was that Tula was grinning wildly, despite the heavy amounts of blood pouring from her nose. Quickly sweeping up the girl and assigning tasks so that dinner wouldn’t be ruined, Kaldur realized just how long the next few days where going to be.


End file.
